Developers Shortlisted for Waterloo Metro Quarter Project

Property heavy hitters Aqualand and John Holland have been shortlisted for the Waterloo Metro Quarter development, the NSW government’s triple-tower over-station development proposal in Sydney’s inner south.

The Chinese-backed developers will vie for the project rights to the precinct, which will yield 700 apartments across three residential towers, about 4,000sq m of retail and 9,000sq m of commercial space, shared offices and health services.

The site will include just 5 to 10 per cent affordable housing.

The 20-hectare Waterloo precinct is just 3km south of Sydney’s CBD and includes large swathes of government-owned land, including the Waterloo Metro Quarter and the Waterloo Estate.

Aqualand and John Holland were shortlisted for the delivery of the new Waterloo Station and the Metro Quarter following a competitive tender process.

Related: Waterloo Development Will Lead to ‘Ghettos of the Future’: Sydney Mayor

Aqualand has announced its design team for the project, appointing 2018 Australian architect gold medallist Alec Tzannes alongside Silvester Fuller, Turner, GHD and Oculus.

John Holland declined to comment.

Aqualand, who won the rights to develop the $5 billion Barangaroo Central site with Grocon and Scentre earlier this year, will work with CPB Contractors and community housing provider City West Housing on the Waterloo tender.

The developer has had a busy year in Sydney, rolling out the first release of its 12.5-hectare Baulkham Hills development in October and offloading a North Sydney office block to AEW and entering a deal with Google for its waterfront Channel 7 properties.

“The Waterloo Metro Development Quarter will be a key catalyst for change and will set the highest possible standard for successful urban renewal,” Aqualand chief executive John Carfi said.

The concept development applications are on public exhibition until 30 January 2019.

Construction work to build Waterloo Station is under way, with the Sydney Metro scheduled to be delivered to Waterloo in 2024.